In renovating an apartment for her family in a historic downtown Manhattan building, a partner in the design firm Carolina George fine-tunes the layout to make its classic details shine

Living Room

Living Room

ELLE DECOR: What should we know about your building?

CAROLINE CUMMINGS RAFFERTY: It's a landmark building from 1931. We live on the 11th floor and have beautiful light. Our unit was made up of two apartments, a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom, that had been cobbled together, but not very well. Each apartment had a different ceiling height and different moldings.

ED: So how much construction did you have to do?

CCR: It was a complete replacement, everything but the fireplaces and the windows. Our contractor was my husband Nick's cousin, Bruce Kinlin of Kinlin Rutherfurd, so it was a family affair and really quite a bit of fun.

In the living room of Caroline Cummings Rafferty's Manhattan apartment, a Pedro Friedeberg Hand chair and a pair of Carolina George slipper chairs surround a cocktail table found at a Paris flea market and vintage metal stools; a Russian neoclassical mirror hangs over the fireplace, and the photograph is by Michael Eastman. See Resources.

Nursery

Nursery

ED: What were some of the changes you made?

CCR: One of the big changes was the hallway that starts in the entry foyer. It leads from the living room to the family room and has custom cherry shelves for our book collection. The bottom storage holds dishes and china, and the units hide a lot of the mechanical and plumbing works. The hallway was the way we really combined the two original apartments so they actually look like one.

ED: What's the finish on the ceiling beams?

CCR: They're Venetian plaster in two colors, blue and gray. The wall between the living room and the study has the same finish. Our painter practically moved in here while he was doing that.